Former Winkler County lawyer's license suspended

The Texas state bar has suspended the law license of a former county attorney who retaliated against two nurses for anonymously complaining about a doctor to state regulators, according to an order released Thursday.

Former Winkler County attorney Scott Tidwell cannot practice law while he appeals his conviction on felony retaliation and misuse of official information charges for retaliating against the nurses, the order states. He lost his job as county attorney when he was convicted and sentenced to 10 years of probation in October.

Tidwell, who got his law license in 1992, did not immediately return calls to his offices in Odessa and Kermit for comment. A message also was left with his attorney, Dave Zavoda in Odessa.

Tidwell prosecuted Anne Mitchell and Vickilyn Galle, who anonymously told state regulators in 2009 that Dr. Rolando Arafiles Jr. used herbal remedies and had attempted to use hospital supplies to perform at-home procedures, among other things.

Arafiles asked a friend who was then the Winkler County sheriff to investigate the complaint. The nurses were fired from their jobs at a hospital in Kermit and charged with felonies. Mitchell eventually was acquitted and charges against Galle were dropped.

The state bar will monitor the status of Tidwell’s appeal of his conviction and make a final determination about his law license once the appeal is final, the order states.

In a petition to the Board of Disciplinary Appeals — a group appointed by the Texas Supreme Court — the state bar recommended Tidwell be disbarred should his appeal be rejected.

Linda Acevedo, a spokeswoman for the state bar, wrote in an email that Tidwell could get his license back even if he is disbarred.

An attorney can apply in a district court for reinstatement no sooner than five years following the last day of his probation. If the court grants the request, the attorney must again pass the state bar exam to be reinstated, she wrote.

Arafiles accepted a plea deal in the case last fall that called for him to surrender his Texas medical license and serve five years of probation. Former Winkler County Sheriff Robert Roberts, who investigated the nurses at Arafiles’ request, lost the job he’d held for 20 year, was sentenced to 100 days has permanently surrendered his peace officer’s license.

The two women sued the county, the hospital, Roberts and other officials alleging that their First Amendment rights had been violated and that their prosecutions had been vindictive. They won a $750,000 settlement in August 2010.

Lawmakers last year passed a bill that adds protections from retaliation when nurses advocate for patients. The bill provides immunity from criminal liability for reporting unsafe care and increases administrative fines to up to $25,000.